CQ Communications Inc has announced plans to realign its publications lineup and to launch a new online supplement to its flagship magazine, CQ Amateur Radio.

“The hobby radio market is changing,” said CQ Communications President and Publisher Dick Ross, K2MGA, “and we are changing what we do and how we do it in order to continue providing leadership to all segments of the radio hobby.”

Effective with the February 2014 issue of CQ, said Ross, content from the magazine’s three sister publications — Popular Communications, CQ VHF and WorldRadio Online — will be incorporated into CQ’s digital edition as a supplement to be called CQ Plus. The print editions of Popular Communications and CQ VHF will be phased out, and WorldRadio Online will no longer exist as a separate online publication. Current Popular Communications, CQ VHF and WorldRadio Online subscribers will be converted to CQ subscribers and receive CQ Plus at no additional charge. Details will be posted on each magazine’s website.

CQ Communications says the change will offer hobby radio enthusiasts a single source for articles from shortwave listening and scanner monitoring to personal two-way services and Internet radio, as well as Amateur Radio. Richard Fisher, KI6SN, currently editor of both Popular Communications and WorldRadio Online, will be editor of CQ Plus.

“Our primary audience is ham radio operators, but very few hams began their radio involvement as amateurs,” Ross said. “Most of us started out as shortwave listeners, broadcast band DXers, CBers or scanning enthusiasts. Many continue to be involved in many different aspects of the radio hobby in addition to Amateur Radio.” Ross said consolidating four specialized publications into one will keep “multidimensional readers” informed on all aspects of the radio hobby, at the same time exposing non-hams “to all the excitement and opportunities that Amateur Radio has to offer.”

The expanded material will be an integral part of the digital edition of CQ and will be included as part of a standard digital subscription. Each month’s digital edition will continue beyond where the print edition ends, offering supplemental material on all aspects of hobby radio communication and selected columns carried over from the other magazines. The added digital content will make full use of the multimedia opportunities presented by digital publications.

A preview of the February issue’s table of contents is available on the CQ website.